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US6311814B1 - One-way clutch - Google Patents

One-way clutch Download PDF

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Publication number
US6311814B1
US6311814B1 US09/499,590 US49959000A US6311814B1 US 6311814 B1 US6311814 B1 US 6311814B1 US 49959000 A US49959000 A US 49959000A US 6311814 B1 US6311814 B1 US 6311814B1
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
annular body
wedge
roller
shaped space
outer annular
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US09/499,590
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Yoshitaka Nakagawa
Hajime Tazumi
Tadahiro Terada
Hideki Fujiwara
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Koyo Seiko Co Ltd
Original Assignee
Koyo Seiko Co Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Koyo Seiko Co Ltd filed Critical Koyo Seiko Co Ltd
Assigned to KOYO SEIKO CO., LTD. reassignment KOYO SEIKO CO., LTD. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: FUJIWARA, HIDEKI, NAKAGAWA, YOSHITAKA, TAZUMI, HAJIME, TERADA, TADAHIRO
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US6311814B1 publication Critical patent/US6311814B1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16D—COUPLINGS FOR TRANSMITTING ROTATION; CLUTCHES; BRAKES
    • F16D41/00—Freewheels or freewheel clutches
    • F16D41/06—Freewheels or freewheel clutches with intermediate wedging coupling members between an inner and an outer surface
    • F16D41/064—Freewheels or freewheel clutches with intermediate wedging coupling members between an inner and an outer surface the intermediate members wedging by rolling and having a circular cross-section, e.g. balls
    • F16D41/066—Freewheels or freewheel clutches with intermediate wedging coupling members between an inner and an outer surface the intermediate members wedging by rolling and having a circular cross-section, e.g. balls all members having the same size and only one of the two surfaces being cylindrical
    • F16D41/067—Freewheels or freewheel clutches with intermediate wedging coupling members between an inner and an outer surface the intermediate members wedging by rolling and having a circular cross-section, e.g. balls all members having the same size and only one of the two surfaces being cylindrical and the members being distributed by a separate cage encircling the axis of rotation
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16D—COUPLINGS FOR TRANSMITTING ROTATION; CLUTCHES; BRAKES
    • F16D41/00—Freewheels or freewheel clutches
    • F16D41/06—Freewheels or freewheel clutches with intermediate wedging coupling members between an inner and an outer surface
    • F16D2041/0608—Races with a regular polygon shape

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a one-way clutch of a type employing rollers.
  • This one-way clutch is built into a pulley mounted to auxiliary machinery driven by a crankshaft of an engine of an automobile or the like through a belt, for example.
  • a conventional one-way clutch of this type is described.
  • An inner annular body and an outer annular body are disposed inside and outside each other in a diameter direction and concentrically with each other.
  • Wedge-shaped spaces each with a gap in a diameter direction narrowing in one direction in a circumferential direction are formed at some positions on a circumference in a gap through which both the annular bodies face each other.
  • a roller is individually disposed in each wedge-shaped space. Between both the annular bodies, a cage having pockets extending to open inside and outside in a diameter direction at positions in phase with the wedge-shaped spaces is provided.
  • Each roller is individually housed by each corresponding pocket.
  • An elastic member is housed by each pocket.
  • Each roller is elastically biased by each elastic member toward a narrower side (lock side) in one direction in the circumferential direction in the wedge-shaped space.
  • the wedge-shaped spaces are formed by providing cam faces to one of the annular bodies (an outer peripheral face of the inner annular body or an inner peripheral face of the outer annular body) and a wedge angle of the wedge-shaped space is generally set at 9° to 11°.
  • the wedge angle is an angle ( ⁇ , ⁇ which will be described later) at which two tangents intersect each other, one of the tangents being a tangent at a point of contact at which the roller contacts the outer peripheral face of the inner annular body and the other of the tangents being a tangent at a point of contact at which the roller contacts the inner peripheral face of the outer annular body when the roller rolls to the lock side.
  • the clutch when each roller rolls to the narrower side in one direction in the circumferential direction of the wedge-shaped space, the clutch is brought into a lock state in which the inner annular body and the outer annular body are integrated with each other through the rollers and rotate synchronously.
  • the clutch When each roller rolls to a wider side in the other direction in the circumferential direction of the wedge-shaped space, the clutch is brought into a free state in which the inner annular body and the outer annular body rotate with respect to each other. In this manner, depending on a position in the wedge-shaped space to which each roller rolls, the clutch is switched between the lock state and the free state.
  • a lock malfunction may occur and a response property of a clutch operation is degraded when the roller rolls to the narrower side of the wedge-shaped space to bring the clutch into the lock state.
  • a one-way clutch including an inner annular body, an outer annular body which is disposed outside the inner annular body and concentrically with the inner annular body and constitutes wedge-shaped spaces at some positions in a circumferential direction between the inner annular body and the outer annular body, each wedge-shaped space being narrowing in one direction in the circumferential direction, and a plurality of rollers each disposed in each wedge-shaped space for switching between a lock state in which each roller rolls to a narrower side of the wedge-shaped space to integrate both the annular bodies with each other to allow both the annular bodies to rotate synchronously and a free state in which each roller rolls to a wider side of the wedge-shaped space to cancel the lock state to allow both the annular bodies to rotate with respect to each other, wherein the inner annular body and the outer annular body have a structure in which a wedge angle of each wedge-shaped space is set at 4° to 8°.
  • an engagement position of each roller is at a position in the wedge-shaped space with the narrowest wedge angle and is relatively shallow when the roller is positioned on the narrower side of the wedge-shaped space and gaps between each roller and both the annular bodies are relatively small when the roller is positioned on the wider side of the wedge-shaped space. Therefore, the rollers move smoothly in switching between the lock state and the free state.
  • FIG. 1 is a sectional side view of an upper half of a one-way clutch according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along a line ( 2 )—( 2 ) and in a direction shown by arrows in FIG. 1;
  • FIG. 3 is a plan developed view of a pocket portion of a cage in FIG. 1;
  • FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing wedge angles in one wedge-shaped space in FIG. 1;
  • FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an upper half of a pulley unit for which the one-way clutch of the invention is used.
  • a one-way clutch according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 .
  • the one-way clutch A has, as its components, an inner ring 1 , an outer ring 2 , a cage 3 , rollers 4 , and coil springs 5 as elastic members.
  • the roller 4 rolls to a narrower side (lock side) or a wider side (free side) in a wedge-shaped space described later according to a rotation difference between the inner ring 1 and the outer ring 2 .
  • the inner ring 1 and the outer ring 2 are brought into a lock state in which the inner ring 1 and the outer ring 2 are integrated with each other through the roller 4 and rotate synchronously and power is transmitted.
  • the lock state of the inner ring 1 and the outer ring 2 is canceled and the inner ring 1 and the outer ring 2 are brought into a free state in which the inner ring 1 and the outer ring 2 rotate with respect to each other and power transmission is interrupted. In this manner, the inner and outer rings are switched between the lock state and the free state depending on the position to which the roller 4 rolls.
  • the inner ring 1 is provided with cam faces 6 constructed of flat key-shaped notches at some positions along a circumferential direction of an inner peripheral face. At two positions facing each other through 180° on one end face of the inner ring 1 , slit-shaped notches 1 a , 1 a are provided.
  • the outer ring 2 is formed to have cylindrical inner and outer peripheral faces and disposed concentrically with the inner ring 1 to face an outer periphery of the inner ring 1 through a required gap.
  • wedge-shaped spaces are formed at some positions on a circumference in the gap through which the inner ring 1 and outer ring 2 face each other.
  • a gap in a diameter direction of each wedge-shaped space is narrow on the lock side on one side in the circumferential direction and wide on the free side on the other side in the circumferential direction.
  • the cage 3 is mounted between the inner ring 1 and outer ring 2 and fitted to the outer peripheral face of the inner ring 1 .
  • the cage 3 has pockets 3 a extending to open inside and outside in the diameter direction at positions corresponding to the respective cam faces 6 of the inner ring 1 .
  • projecting chips 3 c , 3 c To two positions facing each other through 180° on an inner peripheral face of a wall portion 3 b on one side of the axial direction of the pocket 3 a in the cage 3 , projecting chips 3 c , 3 c , to be press-fitted into the notches 1 a , 1 a of the inner ring 1 are provided.
  • the projecting chips 3 c , 3 c are fitted into the notches 1 a , 1 a .
  • the cage 3 is positioned in the circumferential direction and the axial direction with respect to the inner ring 1 having the cam faces 6 .
  • Each roller 4 is individually housed for rolling in the circumferential direction by the corresponding pocket 3 a in the cage 3 . In this housed state, each roller 4 is individually disposed on each wedge-shaped space formed between the corresponding cam face 6 of the inner ring 1 and the inner peripheral face of the outer ring 2 .
  • the coil spring 5 is individually housed by the pocket 3 a of the cage 3 in a compressed state.
  • the coil spring 5 elastically biases the roller 4 toward the narrower side (lock side) in the wedge-shaped space by its extension restoring force.
  • the coil spring 5 is fitted to an outside of a projection 3 d integrally formed on an inner diameter side on one side of a side wall of a circumferential direction of an inner face of the pocket 3 a in the cage 3 .
  • the coil spring 5 is arranged such that an expanding/contracting direction of the coil spring 5 is orthogonal to a rolling axis center of the roller 4 and one end of the coil spring 5 abuts on an intermediate area in the axial direction of the roller 4 .
  • the coil spring 5 is an angularly wound spring wound to have a substantially rectangular prism in section and one end of the coil spring 5 in the expanding/contracting direction abuts on a half or more, e.g., two-thirds of a length of the roller in an axial direction at the intermediate area of the roller 4 in the axial direction.
  • the coil spring 5 elastically biases the roller 4 toward the inner peripheral face of the outer ring 1 substantially in a direction along the cam face 6 of the inner ring.
  • a wedge angle a of the wedge-shaped space in the invention is set at 4° to 8°, and preferably at 5° to 7°.
  • a lower limit value of the wedge angle a is set at a value smaller than 4°, a dimensional deviation of the narrower side and the wider side of the wedge-shaped space from each other becomes too small and the roller 4 is liable to remain locked in switching from the lock state to the free state.
  • an upper limit value of the wedge angle is set at a value greater than 8°, a dimensional deviation of the narrower side and the wider side of the wedge-shaped space from each other becomes too large and a lock malfunction may occur to delay the switching operation in switching from the free state to the lock state.
  • FIG. 4 A difference between the wedge angle ⁇ of the invention and the wedge angle ⁇ of prior art is shown in FIG. 4 .
  • a solid line and a broken line respectively show the lock state (the narrower side of the wedge-shaped space) and the free state (the wider side of the wedge-shaped space) of the roller 4 in the invention.
  • a two-dot dashed line and a one-dot dashed line respectively show the lock state and the free state of the roller 4 in the prior art.
  • FIG. 4 is for facilitating understanding of the invention and shows that an engagement position of the roller 4 is shallower in the lock state and gaps between the roller 4 and the inner ring 1 and outer ring 2 are smaller in the free state in the invention as compared with the prior art.
  • the roller 4 can move smoothly and stably in switching between the lock state and the free state. Therefore, in the invention, switching of the state is carried out swiftly without delay. Furthermore, in the invention, because the rollers 4 move smoothly, wearing of the inner ring 1 and outer ring 2 which the rollers 4 contact is suppressed.
  • the invention can be similarly applied to a structure in which the similar cam faces are provided to some positions along the circumferential direction on the inner peripheral face of the outer ring 2 .
  • coil springs 5 each having a circular shape or a shape of an ellipse of an end face may be used.
  • the one-way clutch A of the invention is built in the pulley mounted to auxiliary machinery driven by the crankshaft of the engine of the automobile or the like through the belt, for example.
  • auxiliary machinery for which the one-way clutch A of the invention can be used are a compressor for an air conditioner, a water pump, an alternator, a cooling fan, crank pulley, and the like.
  • the one-way clutch A is incorporated into a pulley of an alternator as auxiliary machinery is shown in FIG. 5 and will be described.
  • the one-way clutch A of the above-described embodiment is mounted and rolling bearings 22 , 22 such as deep groove ball bearings are disposed on opposite sides of the one-way clutch A in an axial direction.
  • the one-way clutch A is switched between the free state and the lock state according to a rotation difference between the pulley 20 and the rotor 21 , thereby transmitting rotation power from the pulley 20 to the rotor 21 or interrupting the transmission of the rotation power.
  • the one-way clutch A can function such that a rotation speed of the rotor 21 is kept high by an inertial force of the rotor 21 itself when a rotation speed of the pulley 20 decreases, which contributes to improvement of the power generation efficiency.
  • a variation in rotation from the crankshaft and an inertial force of a rotor shaft of the alternator it is possible to prevent shortening of life of the belt due to stress applied to the belt and generation of noise due to a slip.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Pulleys (AREA)
US09/499,590 1999-03-29 2000-02-07 One-way clutch Expired - Lifetime US6311814B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP11-086043 1999-03-29
JP08604399A JP4240169B2 (ja) 1999-03-29 1999-03-29 一方向クラッチおよび一方向クラッチ内蔵プーリ

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US6311814B1 true US6311814B1 (en) 2001-11-06

Family

ID=13875659

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US09/499,590 Expired - Lifetime US6311814B1 (en) 1999-03-29 2000-02-07 One-way clutch

Country Status (4)

Country Link
US (1) US6311814B1 (ja)
EP (1) EP1041305B1 (ja)
JP (1) JP4240169B2 (ja)
DE (1) DE60003740T2 (ja)

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20030024785A1 (en) * 2001-07-31 2003-02-06 Seiichi Takada One-way clutch and one-way clutch assembly
WO2003062660A1 (fr) * 2002-01-24 2003-07-31 Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Roue libre
US20050087416A1 (en) * 2003-10-27 2005-04-28 Pentax Corporation Rotational transfer mechanism
US20110031084A1 (en) * 2008-01-14 2011-02-10 Malcolm Tomlinson Delayed lock up/freewheel bearing and an improved non-bonded torsion bush
CN109072995A (zh) * 2016-03-28 2018-12-21 Ntn株式会社 单向离合器

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP2003021172A (ja) * 2001-07-10 2003-01-24 Koyo Seiko Co Ltd 一方向クラッチならびにプーリユニット

Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2582761A1 (fr) 1985-05-30 1986-12-05 Paris & Du Rhone Roue libre a effet progressif pour lanceur de demarreurs electriques
US4909366A (en) 1986-01-31 1990-03-20 Kabushiki Kaisha Chubu Bearing Seisakusha One-way clutch
US4987984A (en) 1990-01-11 1991-01-29 General Motors Corporation Cam race for a roller clutch
US5482144A (en) 1994-07-27 1996-01-09 The United States Of America As Represented By The Administrator Of National Aeronautics And Space Administration Three-dimensional roller locking sprags
US5676225A (en) 1995-03-08 1997-10-14 Bando Chemical Industries, Ltd. Belt transmission device for engine auxiliaries
JPH10238561A (ja) * 1997-02-25 1998-09-08 Shimano Inc ローラクラッチ
US5927456A (en) * 1996-11-01 1999-07-27 Ntn Corporation Two-way over-running clutch assembly
US6116393A (en) * 1997-09-25 2000-09-12 Koyo Seiko Co., Ltd. Pulley unit

Family Cites Families (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP2899041B2 (ja) * 1990-02-28 1999-06-02 エヌティエヌ株式会社 クラッチ

Patent Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2582761A1 (fr) 1985-05-30 1986-12-05 Paris & Du Rhone Roue libre a effet progressif pour lanceur de demarreurs electriques
US4909366A (en) 1986-01-31 1990-03-20 Kabushiki Kaisha Chubu Bearing Seisakusha One-way clutch
US4987984A (en) 1990-01-11 1991-01-29 General Motors Corporation Cam race for a roller clutch
US5482144A (en) 1994-07-27 1996-01-09 The United States Of America As Represented By The Administrator Of National Aeronautics And Space Administration Three-dimensional roller locking sprags
US5676225A (en) 1995-03-08 1997-10-14 Bando Chemical Industries, Ltd. Belt transmission device for engine auxiliaries
US5927456A (en) * 1996-11-01 1999-07-27 Ntn Corporation Two-way over-running clutch assembly
JPH10238561A (ja) * 1997-02-25 1998-09-08 Shimano Inc ローラクラッチ
US6116393A (en) * 1997-09-25 2000-09-12 Koyo Seiko Co., Ltd. Pulley unit

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
Abstract of Japanese Appln. No.: 03249435, 11/91, Yoshiaki.

Cited By (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20030024785A1 (en) * 2001-07-31 2003-02-06 Seiichi Takada One-way clutch and one-way clutch assembly
US6793056B2 (en) * 2001-07-31 2004-09-21 Ntn Corporation One-way clutch and one-way clutch assembly
WO2003062660A1 (fr) * 2002-01-24 2003-07-31 Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Roue libre
US20040089510A1 (en) * 2002-01-24 2004-05-13 Takashi Ishizaka One-way clutch
US6920969B2 (en) 2002-01-24 2005-07-26 Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha One-way clutch
CN1296636C (zh) * 2002-01-24 2007-01-24 本田技研工业株式会社 单向离合器
US20050087416A1 (en) * 2003-10-27 2005-04-28 Pentax Corporation Rotational transfer mechanism
US7213693B2 (en) * 2003-10-27 2007-05-08 Pentax Corporation Rotational transfer mechanism
US20110031084A1 (en) * 2008-01-14 2011-02-10 Malcolm Tomlinson Delayed lock up/freewheel bearing and an improved non-bonded torsion bush
CN109072995A (zh) * 2016-03-28 2018-12-21 Ntn株式会社 单向离合器

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE60003740T2 (de) 2004-04-15
EP1041305B1 (en) 2003-07-09
EP1041305A1 (en) 2000-10-04
JP2000283187A (ja) 2000-10-13
DE60003740D1 (de) 2003-08-14
JP4240169B2 (ja) 2009-03-18

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